March 12, 2007 - Metal Gear is one of the most memorable franchises. This isn't to say that there are no other titles worth mentioning, but Solid Snake is the baddest of the bad, as anyone who has played the series will tell you. In fact, Snake has showed us how bad he is for 20 years now. Most would say that Snake did not really make the scene until his PlayStation debut with Metal Gear Solid. Solid heightened the story of Snake and brought several new advancements to the series.

One thing has always been true with Metal Gear however, the message - nuclear weapons are bad no matter who controls them. With each installment, the message is stronger and delivered with a deeper story and stronger voice. Later this year, Snake returns in what appears could be his last chapter. At least that is how it appears.

Hideo Kojima returns to the director's chair for Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots and the mysteries of this latest installment bring to mind how each game always lacked details prior to its release. However, as we get closer to the release and the anticipation grows exponentially, Cheat Code Central has comprised an in-depth article to display everything we know about the upcoming PlayStation 3 title. Without further a ado, here is everything there is to know about Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.

The core of the story is the only thing confirmed to date. MGS4 is set to take place around ten years after Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. The world has changed and the restrictions of military intervention have completely ceased. National leaders rely on mercenaries to fight these proxy battles for business needs. The escalating wars have brought fruition to private military contractors, otherwise known as PMCs. The five largest PMCs are revealed to be owned by one organization called Outer Heaven, which most fans of the series will immediately recognize as the hostile nation that Big Boss controlled from the first Metal Gear. Running Outer Heaven is a man that will come as no surprise, Liquid Ocelot. Everyone will remember that Revolver Ocelot lost his arm in Metal Gear Solid. In Sons of Liberty, Liquid Snake's arm was grafted to Revolver and, through a telepathic link, Liquid and Revolver fought constantly for control of the body, thus becoming Liquid Ocelot. Now, Liquid Ocelot controls a military faction equivalent to that of the United States and they are about to attack.

As you can guess, this is where our hero Solid Snake, the coolest espionage agent this side of James Bond (and he does it all with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth) , is called into action. According to the trailer, Snake stands above a grave, reminiscent of the scene of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater where Big Boss said his goodbyes to his mentor Boss. There is something different about our hero though. He is much older looking than what he should appear only ten years after MGS2. This point is driven home harder when a helicopter lands near Snake and Hal Emmerich, aka Otacon, hops out to inform Snake that his country needs him. Otacon looks like he has aged appropriately to the timeline. Even Roy Campbell looks to have aged accordingly. Campbell informs Snake about the situation and Snake is the only one who can stop Outer Heaven and Ocelot. Sadly, the one thing that may pose to be a problem is that Solid Snake only has about six months left to live. A rather graphic seizure in the trailer also hints that something else is wrong with Snake.

MGS4 is set to take place in the war-torn Middle East and the tagline for the game being "No Place to Hide," there is no better example of terrain than a desert war capital. The series long running staple has been about infiltration and this one will be no different. Unlike previous games where you sneak into a structure or through a jungle, your infiltration will be the PMCs that overrun the Middle East. You might ask yourself how. How will a much older Snake survive in a place where there is "no place to hide" and his skills as a master of hiding and sneaking removed? The new sneaking suit called Octocamo will surely put the PlayStation 3 to the test. Hideo and crew have taken the traits of the octopus and made it a functionality of Snake's suit. You will be able to blend into the elements of your surroundings. For instance, in the trailer, it shows Snake blending into a wall and when a watermelon from a destroyed crate rolls into his leg, parts of his new suit change colors accordingly to the watermelon. This new Octocamo will surely add a new aspect to how we will complete our objectives. Along with the Octocamo, it appears that Snake may be able to use an oil drum to sneak around. The oil drum seems to be replacing a fan favorite of the series, the cardboard box. Maybe they will even keep the goofy dialogue? "Huh?! It's just an oil drum."

Snake will have to weave and dodge soldiers that are actually looking for him, but he won't have to do it without some of his memorable gadgets. Snake now wears an electronic eye patch named Solid Eye, which is pre-equipped with radar, thermal goggles, and night vision. There is also a possibility that Solid Eye will offer more features, but nothing else has been confirmed yet. Another new element will be that you will not have to kill every soldier, nor will you have to knock out every soldier, to achieve your goal. Instead, you will have to opportunity to interrogate your enemies for information, weapons, and supplies. In addition to the interrogation, you will also be able to make certain soldiers your friends or keep them as your enemies, and each soldier will have their own personal gear.

Snake won't be the only playable character either. Now, fans that disliked Raiden with such an intensity to ban Metal Gear Solid 2 from their memories, should not have any reason to worry, even though they may sing a different tune this time. Otacon will join the battle fray this time around, in a sense. Using the Metal Gear Mark II, Otacon will control a little robot drone that is reminiscent of the little black drone patrolling the Death Star in Star Wars. This little drone won't just be a guided messenger; it has been revealed that this drone will be the form of communication used instead of the classic CODEC system. You will also be able to engage the enemy, although it has not been fully detailed what the drone can do.

The details of Snake's mission will be directed by you. You will have your goals to achieve, but the open range of the game will allow you to decide how you achieve your goals. For example, Hideo has stated that when you step onto the battlefield, whom you shoot and whom you don't determines your allies and your enemies. However, choose wisely. Depending on what you do in one level may determine the difficulty later on in the game. Innocent by-standers will also play a part in the levels of the game, but it is unknown at this time what their exact role will be. This will further implement the "you decide" factor, since you have the Octocamo, you can either go full throttle on stealth or gun crazy and kill'em all.

Kojima Productions has also implied that the first person shooter aspect will be honed more than in previous titles. Kojima Productions has also said that they are exploring stronger online gameplay than in previous titles. Maybe they will also include the first three Metal Gear Solids, well the first two maybe, as an online option for new players to get the full story, or at least, leading up to this point. Unfortunately, this is about all of the details revealed about physical gameplay. Surely, before the full release of the game we will have more details to the mechanics of the game.